Timeweb Trilogy Omnibus (101 page)

—Master Noah Watanabe

Acey Zelk lay awake in an agitated state, staring into the shadows of the barracks building, one of several inside the largest subterranean chamber. He heard Dux sleeping on the bunk just above his, and through a high window he saw a faint glow of indirect lighting on the ceiling of the natural cavern. Before retiring for the night, Acey had gone off on his own and asked a few questions of a pretty young woman, pretending to be Giovanni Nehr’s friend. Now he knew exactly where Gio was in another chamber, inside one of the robot-assembly buildings.

Gio, wearing his foolish body armor, had his own private quarters there; he was receiving favorable treatment as if he were a general in Noah’s forces instead of a supervisor of robotic assemblies. Even that position irked Acey, because it showed that Gio was gaining undeserved respect in the Guardian organization.

Acey knew he had given his word to Dux to stay away from the man, and that meant something. But other things were more important. He could not ignore what Gio had done to them.

Silently, Acey slipped out of bed and grabbed his shoes and clothing, which he put on when he was outside the barracks. Like a shadow, he hurried through a tunnel toward the robot section, following the directions that the young woman had provided. On the way he passed sentient machines as they went about their sleepless work, carrying materials and blinking and beeping with their electronic communication systems. Acey felt a slight current of cool air in the passageway, which he attributed to all of the activity around him. The robots hardly gave him any notice.

Reaching the designated structure, which had been painted Guardian colors, Acey opened a door and slipped inside. Just as the young woman had described, it was an assembly area and an inspection facility for former Red Beret robots, which were disassembled there and checked in detail. Robot parts lay in neat groupings, and work was continuing under the supervision of a small, blinking robot.

It was quite noisy in the building, and Acey wondered how anyone could sleep through it. He got his answer when he opened the door to Gio’s quarters and slipped inside.

The windowless room was filled with white noise like the steady pulse of an ocean, or the inside of a seashell, a continuous sound that drowned out all of the activity outside. In dim light coming through cracks around the door, Acey saw body armor on the floor and Gio on a bed, fast asleep. Leaning down, Acey removed a puissant gun from its holster, and set the charge. A yellow energy chamber on top of the barrel glowed.

Finding the white-noise transmitter on a bed table, Acey adjusted the background murmur, making it go up and down. With the glowing weapon behind him to keep the light low, he stood at the head of the bed and watched as Gio began to toss and turn, his sleep disturbed.

With his eyes still closed, Gio reached for the noise transmitter, but could not find it on the side table. He opened his eyes, and at first did not see the intruder.

“Looking for this?” Acey asked, tossing the transmitter on the table. “Or this?” He shoved the glowing barrel of the gun in Gio’s face.

Startled, Gio tried to pull back, but the agile teenager jumped on the bed and straddled him, with the gun jammed against his forehead.

“What are
you
doing here?” Gio asked, recognizing his attacker.

“That’s my question for you,” Acey said. “I’m here to stop you from pulling off your next nasty little scheme.” He saw fear in the man’s eyes.

“Please don’t kill me,” Gio whimpered.

In disgust, Acey swung the gun and hit him hard on the side of the head.

Dazed for a moment, Gio lashed out and threw the teenager off, causing Acey to tumble to the floor. At the same time Gio set off an alarm, and klaxons sounded.

In Noah’s office, the Master of the Guardians and Thinker had been holding a late night meeting with Tesh, discussing the surprising new information about podships—those under Tulyan control and those at the Parvii Fold—and the apparent breakdown of Parvii power.

As Tesh spoke about her own people and all of the tragic deaths, her eyes misted over, but she seemed able to overcome it and find an inner strength. Newly impressed, Noah felt his anger subsiding. She had come in and landed like a hot-rodder, but her flying skills were superb and she did have important things to tell him. Things that were better said in person than over communication links that could have been intercepted or compromised. For the moment Noah and Tesh set aside their differences, though he felt the residual tension between them, and knew from her demeanor that she did, too.

“Acey and Dux say you tried to convince the Parviis to allow their podship fleet to be used by the Tulyans for repair work on the galactic infrastructure … Timeweb. Apparently, Woldn didn’t like your proposal.”

“That’s right, but I still consider myself one of your Guardians, and I’m here seeking your leadership on this critical matter involving galactic ecology … the phrase you coined, Master Noah.”

“What do the Tulyan leaders think of your idea? I assume you discussed it with them?”

“Of course, but they don’t think Parviis and Tulyans can ever work cooperatively on a project of that scale. They say they don’t need Parviis to pilot podships, that Tulyans can do that, and the web repairs, too.”

“That sounds short-sighted,” Noah said. “But I suppose it’s the result of millennia of hatred and loathing between the two races.”

“The Tulyan Elders think I’m a wild card, and since I’m a Parvii they don’t trust me. But Noah, if I work with you and the Guardians—offering solutions for the huge ecological crisis—maybe they’ll take me seriously. Maybe they’ll take
us
seriously.” She paused. “The Tulyans are an ancient people, with a history of pacifism. They scattered Woldn’s swarms this time, but I don’t think the Tulyans should try to go against the Parviis again without help, not even with the weakened state of my people.”

“So that’s where Humans come in, eh?” Noah said. “We’re much more warlike, and can stand up to your tough brothers and sisters.”

She shook her head. “I came to you, Noah, because the Tulyans respect you—and because Humans can convince them of the need for diplomacy in this matter. If we send a joint Human-Tulyan diplomatic mission to the Parviis, maybe Woldn will finally listen.”

He nodded, but hesitantly. “Maybe.”

She went on to tell him what she had related earlier to Eshaz, that the ancient Parviis had used powerful telepathic weapons against their enemies, and that Woldn had obviously gone back to the Parvii Fold to resurrect those powers.

“But Woldn said most of the breedmasters and war priests were killed when the Tulyans disrupted his morphic field, thus slowing down the regeneration of Parvii telepathic power.” She paused. “I feel we must move quickly with diplomatic overtures, before my people find a way to regenerate their destructive powers. As a species we are survivors, and as bad as it looks for Parviis now, I think they will find a way.”

“Diplomatic overtures, you say, and not a military strike?”

“I would never cooperate with an attack against my people. For their sake, and for that of everyone else, diplomacy is the only way.”

“But couldn’t it come with military might reinforcing it?”

Folding her arms across her chest, Tesh stared at him. “I will not discuss such matters. If you keep pressing me, we shall have nothing more to discuss.”

“I wouldn’t say that, Tesh. Actually, you showed good sense coming here, providing us with reconnaissance about what happened to the Parviis and verifying that they still control thousands of podships. I also want to meet with the Tulyan Elders, and I would like you to take me there.”

She was about to say something when the alarm klaxons went off, with the pattern of sound indicating the location of trouble.

“Robot section!” Thinker said, heading for the door. Noah ran around the slower robot, followed by Tesh.

Human and robot Guardians were hurrying ahead of Noah, and he ran after them, just ahead of his two companions. Reaching one of the robot-assembly buildings, Noah saw that the doors were wide open. Inside, sentient machines and Human Guardians were gathered at the interior door that led to Giovanni Nehr’s private quarters.

Pushing his way through and entering the room, Noah saw Gio and Acey rolling on the floor, fighting for control of a puissant pistol. The weapon glowed yellow. A shot rang out, and one of the robots fell. Then the gun fell, and one of the Guardian women kicked it away.

Two Guardian men grabbed Gio to restrain him, while a pair of robots took hold of Acey.

Noah demanded to know what they were quarreling about, but both Acey and Gio sulked without saying anything.

“Dux and Acey told you about the prison moon quarrel,” Tesh said, “when they claimed that Gio tried to push Dux out of an airvator, but it’s gone beyond that. Now the boys think Gio drugged them and shipped them into space.”

“Is that so?” Noah said to Acey.

The young man nodded.

“Well?” Noah said, looking hard at Giovanni Nehr. “Did you do it?”

Standing up straight, the chisel-featured man said, “None of it. The boys are liars.”

“Acey, what proof do you have?” Noah asked, waving off the Guardian robots. They released their hold on the teenager.

“Dux and I saw what he did on the airvator, and we tried to set aside our anger about that. Then he drugged us and put us in a spacebox. We could have been killed, and he didn’t care. He just wanted to get rid of us.”

“Tell me more about this alleged drugging,” Noah said. “Start at the beginning.”

“To be honest,” Acey said, glaring over at Gio, “we didn’t actually see him do anything, but he’s the only one who
could
have done it. For some reason, he wanted to get rid of us.”

“Earlier, you promised me that you would set your differences aside,” Noah said. “Now you’ve decided to break your word based upon a mere suspicion?”

“I’m sorry,” the boy said, hanging his head, “but I know he did it to us. No one can ever change my mind about that.”

“Gio is in charge of new robot recruits from the Red Berets,” Noah said, “making sure they are all torn down and thoroughly checked. He’s been doing a great job, and I trust him completely.”

“Well we don’t,” Acey said. “You’d better tear him down like one of those robots and find out what’s going on inside his brain, because he has a really dark side.”

Noah shook his head. “I find that impossible to believe.”

“His brother is the Supreme General of the Merchant Prince Alliance,” Acey said. “Jacopo Nehr is your enemy, so how can you trust his brother?”

“I don’t consider the MPA my enemy,” Noah said. “It’s Lorenzo and Francella I oppose, not the new Doge. As for Jacopo Nehr, I’ve always respected him, since he raised himself up by his own bootstraps, unlike most of the noble-born princes. In any event, Gio never got along with his brother. We have good evidence of that.”

“Dux and I didn’t leave here on our own. That bastard drugged us and packed us in spaceboxes.”

“You’re still a Guardian,” Noah said, “and I expect you to rise above personal conflicts for the sake of our cause. There are too many important problems to be dealt with for all of you to be squabbling like kids in a schoolyard.”

Acey and Gio exchanged hateful stares.

“I don’t want to see you within fifty meters of each other. Stay apart. Do you both understand?”

They nodded.

“If Eshaz were only here, he could discover the truth,” Tesh said, moving to Noah’s side. “Tulyans can touch your skin and read your thoughts. Are there are any other Tulyans here at the headquarters?”

“Zigzia,” Noah said. “She sends messages for us to the starcloud.”

“We could do that,” Tesh said, glaring at Gio, “but I believe Acey and his cousin.”

“I may be able to solve this right now,” Thinker said. A tentacle snaked out of his head and hovered over Giovanni, the robot’s organic interface. “Shall I?” Thinker asked, looking at Noah.

Pursing his lips, Noah said, “I’ve always resisted using that, or the Tulyan method for lie detection. I refuse to run a police state around me. Instead, I prefer to look into the hearts of people, and in that way I sense if they are loyal to me or not. I try to inspire people to follow me, to believe in my ideals.”

Looking at Gio, however, Noah noticed him sigh in relief. This gave the Guardian leader pause, but still he did not give Thinker the go-ahead. “I must say, Gio,” Noah said, “that I have always sensed you are troubled, but I never sensed any betrayal of me or the Guardian organization.”

“I’m totally loyal to you,” Gio said.

“That may be true,” Noah said, “and I won’t force you to undergo lie detection. However, if you want to clear this matter up, there is an easy way to do it.”

“A painless way,” Thinker said to Gio. “In only a few seconds, I can download the contents of your mind and analyze them.”

Gio struggled against the men who were holding him.

“I don’t like what I’m seeing here,” Noah said. “Why would you want to harm those boys?”

“I didn’t want to harm them. That was an accident in the airvator, and I took steps to make sure they could breathe inside the spaceboxes.”

“So you
did
do that,” Noah said.

“I told you!” Acey exclaimed.

“Only because I knew they would never let up on me,” Gio said. “I had to get rid of them before they got rid of me.”

“We’re not like you,” Acey said. “We don’t sneak around pulling dirty tricks.”

“Take Gio away,” Noah said to the men holding him. “Lock him up until I decide what to do with him.”

“No!” Gio shouted, struggling unsuccessfully to get free.

Disgusted, Noah turned his back on him.

The cell had an electronic code, which the two Guardians activated with a touch pad to lock Gio inside. The prisoner didn’t bother to sit on the bed, since he didn’t plan to stay that long.

A week ago, he had supervised robots as they repaired the locks on the cells, so he knew the codes. Now, after the Guardians left him alone, he uttered the eight digits aloud to voice-activate the lock. The metalloy door slid open with a soft squeal.